Isle Royale Forums

I noticed a large freshly cut clearing on the trail out of McCargoe Cove campsite towards Chickenbone Lake. We were in a pretty big hurry to beat the afternoon heat so I did not take a picture. I was wondering if anyone else saw it and had any Idea why they cut down such a large area to the dirt. It was located on a very flat surface just off trail, and some of the soil was disturbed like someone had been digging leveling the ground. My best guess was additional tent sites.

Huh. I'll be at McCargoe in a couple of weeks and will take a look.

Very interesting. NPS seems to move at such a glacial pace so that i would be surprised about new tent sites without any news having leaked out. I wonder if it could be a clearing for a helicopter drop zone for lumber for boardwalks? I have seen those elsewhere on the island, albeit not with a new clearing.

Just looked at their management plan, and the area surrounding the McCargoe campground is designated "non-wilderness", so clearings such as this are allowed. I'll be curious as to what others think, when they get there.

JerryB wrote: Fri Aug 23, 2024 11:03 am I wonder if it could be a clearing for a helicopter drop zone for lumber for boardwalks?

That would be my guess. I've heard they've been talking about it.

Also McCargoe Cove is a fairly key emergency evacuation node too, so a helicopter drop zone/basic landing pad might make sense. There are a couple helipads in various locations in the archipelago already, and I’ve seen a couple sites in Superior National Forest on the mainland too.

yeah they have to at least have a few spots where they can drop a basket and an operator to the ground to pluck out the injured

Hi, looks like its not a campground, and the expansion was going to be developed further into the cove

heres a screenshot from the wilderness management plan option a

Ingo wrote: Fri Aug 23, 2024 12:24 pm

JerryB wrote: Fri Aug 23, 2024 11:03 am I wonder if it could be a clearing for a helicopter drop zone for lumber for boardwalks?

That would be my guess. I've heard they've been talking about it.

Super late to the convo, but, in the past they've either staged the lumber right on the dock area for immediate dispersal (we were fortuitous enough to coincide a rest day at McCargoe with a helo ops day; sat in our chairs watching the helo come n go and the ground crew rigging the loads) or they store the caches out of sight.

So, it's been a year, maybe someone has an update on austere landing pad vs. something else?